7th Grade Life Science
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The Microscope Notes

Parts of A Microscope
Print and label your own microscope to put in your notes section of your folder

How much are you magnifying it by?

Lens 1. The Eyepiece

Makes things look 10X times bigger.

Lens 2. The Objective Lenses

We have three different objective lenses but we can only use one at a time.

Our objective lenses can do 4X, 10X, and 40X.

To figure out how much total magnification you see, use multiplication.

The x next to the number means how many "times" it is magnified.  For example, 40x reads as "forty times" which means that the image you are looking at is 40 times bigger then in real life.

 

Objective

Eyepiece

Total Magnification

Low Power

4x

10x

40x

Medium Power

10x

10x

100x

High Power

40x

10x

400x
Every picture that is drawn or photographed should be marked with the magnification!

Focusing the Microscope

1. Make sure you are using the lowest power objective lens (that would be the shortest one)

2. Use only the Coarse Adjustment (large knob)

3. Raise the stage until it almost touches the lens

4. Center the object in the middle of the circle of light (use your hands to move the object around)

5. Use the Coarse adjustment knob to lower the stage until the object is in focus

** If you cannot find the object or focus on the first try then repeat steps 1-5.

*** After you complete steps 1-5 with an object in focus then you may use a high power objective

DO NOT USE THE COARSE ADJUSTMENT KNOB WITH HIGH POWER OBJECTIVES!!!

What you see changes!

Click on the grasshopper below to see how your view changes.

Human Eye

0X

Low Power, Red Objective

40X

Medium Power, Yellow Objective

100X

High Power, Blue Objective

400X

How to see what you are looking for

Lets say you want to see a leg of a insect under a higher power.

Right now it is off to the right in low power.

Move the slide until what you want to see is in the center.

Then move your objective to a higher power and refocus using the fine adjustment knob.